Blackwell will have to sit out a year per NCAA rules before playing for UW in 2013-14. He most likely chose Washington as it is a place where he will be able to play right away. It will be after Aziz N’Diaye graduates.

This is obviously good news for Washington, in the long term. This is very good. We needed a big man. But there will be a sect of fans wondering what Romar has up his sleeve to improve the team for next year.

First, why this is still really good for us. It not only fills a position of need here in the future, but with an experienced player who will allow Romar not to have to throw a young guy in to the fire after Aziz graduates. There will be a huge void after next season when N’Diaye departs the program.

In the short term, I am sure though that Romar would prefer to find another body to put down there with N’Diaye this season. Remember, Washington has one more scholarship left to offer. As it stands now, redshirt freshman Jernard Jarreau and redshirt sophomore Desmond Simmons look to be the bangers down low with Aziz. That is a worrisome prospect as both are fairly scrawny and too perimeter oriented for the 4-position, at the moment at least.

There is no telling just how good Blackwell will be in the Pac-12, but I don’t think any of us could really complain if he replicates the near 13 points and 7 boards in the 20-25 minutes per game he played in for USF. The question mark will be his defense, of course.